Friends of the Inyo Action Alert: Stand Up for Non-Federally Recognized Tribes

Make your comments personal to you. What motivates you to speak out?

Here are a few talking points you may want to include:

• This bill excludes many California Indian tribes. AB 52 runs counter to the international standards set by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which affirm the rights of all Indigenous Peoples to maintain and protect their cultural heritage, religious sites, and traditional knowledge. California is home to one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse Indigenous populations in the world, with over 70 non-federally recognized Tribal Nations that continue to practice their traditions and protect their ancestral lands despite federal neglect. To exclude these communities from consultation and decision-making is not only an affront to Indigenous sovereignty and a continuation of colonialism, but is also a violation of California’s stated commitments to restorative justice. Equal standing for all California Indian tribes is a bare minimum requirement.
• Prioritizes development over sacred places and allows agencies to check boxes rather than guarantee protection. The bill disregards the California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA) foundational principles by undermining the ability of all Tribal Nations to participate equitably in the protection of their cultural heritage. Mandatory tribal consent before any development affecting sacred places, regardless of associated tribes’ federal status, must be protected. Legislation without real enforcement mechanisms for when consultation is ignored or abused must not be passed, and guaranteed protection and avoidance of desecration, not just “good faith” efforts, must be enacted.
• This bill preserves colonial hierarchies between federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes.The proposed amendments to AB 52 redefine the term “California Native American tribe” in a way that prioritizes federally recognized Tribes while relegating non-federally recognized Tribes to a secondary status. This shift is a direct assault on the political and cultural rights of California’s non-federally recognized Tribes, many of whom have been systematically denied federal recognition due to historical injustices. This is an active continuation of these historical injustices. The bill’s proposed changes to state law disregard these Tribes sovereignty, diminish their role in protecting their own sacred sites, and undermine decades of advocacy that resulted in prior legal protections.